1,024 retd roadways staff await pending benefits for 15 mths

Jodhpur: While 1,024 roadways employees have retired between October 2022 and January 2024 from various posts, none of them has received benefits such as gratuity and encashment of unused leaves. These pending benefits have added up to nearly Rs 125 crore at the rate of Rs 8 crore per month, said the employees. Dependents of many employees who died while in service have also been waiting for their dues.
Lal Chand Chandak, who retired as an accountant with the roadways in July 2023, said, “Even the amount of my provident fund was paid to me five months after my retirement, while many others got this amount instantly after their retirement.” If the government sanctions the payment of these benefits from the Road Transport Infrastructure Development Fund (RTIDF) fund, the retired employees’ sufferings would end, he added.
Ram Gopal Pareek, the financial advisor of Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC), said the amount up to September 2022 has been paid to the retirees and that directions from the government are awaited for the payment of outstanding dues since October 2022.
“These dues are either paid from RTIDF or grant-in-aid by the government. So it is up to government when and how it decides to make this payment,” Pareek said. The state government had sanctioned Rs 622 crore in its budget payable to roadways from RTIDF in current fiscal ending this next month. A payment of only Rs 412 crore has been made out of this, said sources. TNN